Thursday night Orioles game thread: at White Sox, 8:10

The Orioles were struggling, but at least they had a below-.500 opponent in the Washington Nationals ahead of them. That didn’t go so hot.

Then the Orioles were really struggling, but at least they had an even worse opponent in the Minnesota Twins up next. That, also, didn’t go well.

Now the O’s, like Denzel Washington’s plane in “Flight,” are in an uncontrolled dive, but there’s no favorable opponent this time. The White Sox have been playing well all season, and lead the AL Central with a 28-20 record. Their run differential of plus-69 is the best in the American League, and the third best in all of baseball behind only the Padres and Dodgers.

Gulp.

Adding to the not-quite-rosy picture is that the ball will go to Bruce Zimmermann, who has had a tough time this season. He’s 2-3 with a 5.59 ERA, and he’s coming off of a start against the Nationals in which he allowed five earned runs on seven hits in three innings.

The good news? His outing before that against the Yankees was pretty good. He allowed only two hits, a walk and a run in 5.2 innings, and the Orioles won 10-6.

Hopefully that Zimmermann shows up, and hopefully the O’s have some answers for Dylan Cease. The Chicago righty is 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA, with 56 strikeouts in 45.1 innings.

Orioles lineup

1. Cedric Mullins CF

2. Trey Mancini 1B

3. Anthony Santander DH

4. Maikel Franco 3B

5. Freddy Galvis SS

6. DJ Stewart RF

7. Stevie Wilkerson 2B

8. Chance Sisco C

9. Ryan McKenna LF

LHP Bruce Zimmermann

White Sox lineup

1. Nick Madrigal 2B

2. Yasmani Grandal C

3. Yoan Moncada 3B

4. Jose Abreu 1B

5. Yermin Mercedes DH

6. Andrew Vaughn LF

7. Leury Garcia RF

8. Billy Hamilton CF

9. Danny Mendick SS

RHP Dylan Cease